09 September 2023 , 20:19
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Bosses at five councils heading for bankruptcy are pocketing more pay than Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The highest salary of £263,371 dwarfs the PM’s £167,391 for running the country. Skint authorities in Kent, Stoke-on-Trent, Southampton and Bradford all face joining cash-strapped Birmingham in going bust.
But Birmingham, which declared itself effectively bankrupt over a £650million blackhole, paid chief Deborah Cadman a basic £244,820 in 2022/23 – up from £186,003 in 2021/22.
Ms Cadman, 60, is seen here at a bash for BBC1 hit Peaky Blinders, set in Birmingham. Kent County Council must find £86m and, like Birmingham, faces issuing a Section 114 Notice – bankruptcy in all but name.
Despite its “perilous position”, David Cockburn, who stepped down in July, took home £263,371 in pay and perks in his final year. His replacement is in line for up to £236,000.
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Southampton Council, at risk of going bust, pays head Mike Harris up to £191,063 a year – £99.03 an hour. And Bradford Council, which is close to financial “exhaustion”, is set to hire Lorraine O’Donnell on £205,000. In Stoke, which has an £8.5m shortfall, city director John Rouse saw his basic pay rise from £172,753 in 2022 to £177,269 this year.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance slammed the salaries at a time councils were “wasting cash on vanity projects and silly investments”. Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: “It’s fatcat salaries for chief executives but skipped meals and a life struggling to afford the basics for council workers.”